Space Challenge: The Dining Room

on August 5, 2014

Dear Friends,

Several years ago, wemade a large addition to our family that we have not once regretted. She is a beautiful baby grand piano that came from Mr. C’s grandmother. At the time, we had an empty living room with plenty of space for the curvy Mrs. Steinway. Yes, she is the real deal and I love every glorious inch of her.

Her highness is an amazon. Large and in charge. She will not be tucked away or sold on Craig’s List. This was our biggest challenge with the move into Charlotte. Where oh where to put Mrs. S?!

I have been really stubborn about keeping her around. Most things I’m pretty flexible on but this was non-negotiable.

When we bought our city house, I knew I wanted her in the dining room. We may have dropped a thousand square feet, but the dining room is large by any standard. Bigger than our old dining room even. Wide and long and maybe big enough for a piano and a dining room table.

You can doubt me. I won’t hold it against you considering the grainy cell phone picture (taken mid-move), but I think with the right design it will work. Of course I can’t have a dining room table, a china cabinet, a sideboard, a piano, and occasional chairs in that room. Nope, that won’t work. So I have to pare down or put furniture elsewhere. The center arrow marks where the china cabinet will go. The table will go in the righthand corner. The sideboard is out.

It doesn’t work yet but it will with the right addition. The grand plan is to buy a banquette to use on the side wall for the dining table. I would still use my slipcovered chairs on the other side.

Who says you can’t put baby in a corner? It may work, it may not but stick with me as we find out.